A superior court judge ruled on Monday, Sept. 24, that the state must remove controversial language from voter registration forms that might otherwise have prevented out-of-state college students, military members and other temporary residents from voting.

Strafford County Superior Court Judge John Lewis issued the order, instructing the secretary of state to delete a paragraph from the forms advising voters that they are subject to laws requiring them to obtain a New Hampshire driver’s license and register their motor vehicles here. Legislation adding such language passed this year despite a veto from Gov. John Lynch.

The New Hampshire branches of the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of the law, arguing it would disenfranchise out-of-state college students who are domiciled in New Hampshire but do not intend to stay here after they graduate.

“We are very pleased the judge agreed with our concern that students who come to college in New Hampshire might give up their right to vote because of concerns about registering a car and getting a New Hampshire driver’s license even when they knew they would leave after graduation,” said Joan Flood Ashwell, election law specialist for the League of Women Voters.

The judge’s order also instructs the secretary of state’s office to post information on its website and inform election officials about the revised registration forms.

New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) criticized the ruling, calling it “judicial activism of the worst sort.”

“When individuals find themselves in New Hampshire and know they will leave, they should not vote here. Whether it is because they finish a temporary work project, a vacation, or graduate from school, they are neither domiciled in New Hampshire, nor a resident here,” O’Brien said.